Side-plug hydraulic cellar gate



Patented Apr. 8, 1952 UN [TED iiSTATES PATENT OFFICE 2,592,197

' SIDE-PLUG HYDRAULIC CELLAR GATE :Erank J Schweitzer, .In Brea rCalif.appiicati n'octobe'r 27, 1947,;sefia1 mrvsaass il-Claim.

This invention is-a cellar-control gate; that'is, it is a form of valveused in'deepwell operations to make a complete-shut off of fluid flowina well casing, or to close onto an installedproduction pipe in a well.Control gates of this general type include inner closure or ramassemblies "which are often operatedby hydraulic or other fluidpressure. A serious" objection to some formsof" pressure fluid operatedgates is the great amount of time and labor involved in assembling therams and their attached power source and the usual practice of removingthe piston and its pressure chamber whenever a ram" assembly is removedfor any reason .Moreover, such .a ram and power plant hook-up makes forconstructional expense.

Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a cellar controlgate and power hook-up which wholly eliminates the need of dismountingthe power plant merely to enable the insertion, adjustment or removal ofa gate assembly. A further object of the invention is to provide acontrol valve or gate structurein which the ram assembly is of such formof installation in the gate shell that the assembly can be laterallyshifted from the shell at will while its fluid operated power plantremains permanently sealed in its normal place of attachment on and tothe shell.

Also, an object of the invention is to provide for the easy, safe andeffective intercoupling of the removable ram assembly, and for the readydisconnection of the assembly, as to its operating piston or otheractuating device, as the case may be. And, in this connection, it is anobject to provide a ram connection of such type that there are noextraneous fasteners, couplings or specially adjustable hitching partsincluded, or needing manipulation.

To secure simplicity, low cost of construction and utmost ease ofinterconnecting a gate assembly, as it is installed, and as easyremoval, a feature of the invention is to provide a connecting device ofsuch a form that it is only necessary to bodily shift a ram assemblyinto its normal position in the gate shell whereby to secure full,reliable and direct interconnection of the assembly to a complementarypart of the fixed, sealed and readied power plant.

The invention resides in certain advancements in this art as set forthin the ensuing disclosure and having, with the above, additional objectsand advantages as hereinafter developed, and whose constructions,combinations and detail of means and the manner of operation will bemade Figure-4 is-a sectional-detail IKE-139) longitudinal section and ofthe ramassembly=and piston rod connection.

" Theillustrated control gate embodies a substantial, 'cuboidal mainbody or shell 2 having top and bottom faces 3 and 4 for attachment ofdesired well head fittings, not shown. A large bore hole 5 passesfrom-top to bottom of the shell for receptionof tools or pipe, asneeded. The bore hole is -intersected by an upper chamber 6 in which islongitudinally operative a pair of opposed and cooperative closureor-gate assemblies, of which only the right-hand assembly 1 is shown andwhich is of a form to close tightly onto a pipe when disposed(centrally) in the shell bore hole 5.

In a lower longitudinal chamber 8 is operative a pair of opposed andcooperative ram assemblies 9, of which only the right-hand one is shown;Fig. 1, being in outer operational position as to the hole 5. The ramassembly 1 is shown in Fig. 2 in its innermost position.

Rigidly fixed on opposite ends of the shell 2 are dual, right-hand andleft hand cylinder blocks Ill and H, which are substantially permanentlyinstalled in that they do not have to be removed either for installationor removal of the mentioned ram assemblies. In the upper cylinderchambers l2 of the said blocks are power pistons l3 (only the right-handone being shown). The piston l3 has a rigidly affixed piston rod 14working through its chamber wall [5. The rod I4 is axially threaded atHit and receives a complementary threaded portion of a tail-rod l6extending axially from the piston l3 and through the cylinder head ll;its outer end being flattened at l6f for application of a tool wherebyto rotate the rod and effect axial motion of the piston rod l4, when andif necessary.

A distinguishing feature of this invention is the construction andarrangement of parts for the reliable connection of each piston in thecontrol gate to its relative control valve or ram as- 3 sembly, and forthe insertion or removal of any gate ram assembly from the shell 2without disturbing the rigidly attached power cylinder blocks; which maybe integral with the shell if desired.

Therefore One side of the shell is provided with a suitable number ofwindows 20, one for each ram assembly is very practical, onelongitudinal pair of the windows opening into the upper valve chamber 6and the lower pair opening into the lower chamber 8, so that each windowwill ex- Pose its respective, installed assembly. Each window is tightlycloseable by its respective plug 21 which is fixable by bolts 22.

Means are provided whereby to interconnect each ram assembly to itsrespective piston rod by the mere straight shift of an assembly inthrough its shell window and into the intersecting upper or lower valvechamber, as the case may be; disconnection is had by an opposite orextracting operation of the ram assembly. The description of one suchconnection will suflice for all since they are alike. Each ram assemblyincludes a body block (9) Fig. 4, having a T- section channel 90provided in and along its face opposite the inwardly projecting end ofits relative piston rod. Each such rod has a rectangular, transversehead or spline 25, Fig. 4, slidably fitting in the presented channel 90of an assembly as such a block is pushed in through a window 20 whilethe piston spline 25 is at the outer and registering position to enterthe near end of the block channel 90, Fig. 3.

The spline 25 thus constitutes a device slidably interlocking the innerend of a piston rod to an assembly block and prevents the piston rodfrom rotating with the tail rod I6 should it be necessary at any time toeffect outward movement of an assembly 9, as in the absence of motivepressure fluid in a piston chamber.

The open gate 9', Fig. 3, is in register with the window 20 and its topand bottom faces aline with and are guided by the cooperative, respective inside top and bottom guide faces of the chamber 8, as seen in Fig.2, at gate 9. The top 4 and bottom faces of the gate 8-9 fit therespective faces of the window 20 whose top and bottom faces arecoplanar with the gate guide faces as clearly seen in Fig. 2, at gate 9.

Normally the gate assemblies are shifted in either direction byoperation of the power pistons, in which event the tail rods merelyreciprocate with the pistons (without screw function). Each gate ramassembly has its own power piston, and either upper or lower pair of theassemblies can be power driven concurrently if desired.

The principle of lateral insertion or removal of the several ramassemblies without need of removal of any part of the actuating pistonsand cylinders, or their rods, and the manner and the means of connectingeach assembly to its rod is made clear in the above disclosure.

What is claimed is:

A side-closing, well cellar gate assembly characterized by and includinga shell having a flow hole from top to bottom and a gate chamber openinglaterally from said hole and having inner top and bottom gate guidingfaces and a ram gate slidably fitting said faces and having an axis ofmotion at a right angle to the axis of said hole for opening and closingfunctions; said shell having a side window whose top and bottom facesare coplanar with said chamber faces and said window being located atthe locale of valve open position in the shell, and a side closure forthe window.

FRANK J. SCHWEITZER, JR.

" REFERENCES CITED The following references are'of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name. Date 1,565,650 Kee Dec. 15, 19251,858,927 Gray May 17, 1932 2,035,319 Hughes Mar. 24, 1936 2,154,955Mueller Apr. 18, 1939 2,282,363 King May 12, 1942

